Sunwolves were hammered 94-7 on Saturday, but Nick Mallett gave them a more severe mauling off the pitch

Lions showed no mercy with their 14-try blitz, and nor did the ex-Springboks coach

The Sunwolves were created with the sole purpose of putting Japanese rugby on the map, ahead of them hosting the World Cup in 2019.

With just two wins in two years in Super Rugby, the Tokyo-based franchise has failed to get to grips with the elite standard of competition. Their humiliating run plundered new depths with a record-breaking 94-7 defeat to Lions this weekend.

No team in this competition has ever conceded more tries than the 14 shipped by Sunwolves. It is the largest winning margin recorded and the most points ever conceded by a team in the Super Rugby era.

Though many viewers would have enjoyed the morbidly one-sided masterclass, it has royally pissed off Nick Mallett, who is never one to mince his words.

Speaking on Supersport after the ‘match’, Mallett was dismayed with the way officials in Japan are managing their only Super Rugby franchise, and warned of worse defeats to come if they didn’t change course:

“Japanese rugby officials are not taking the Super Rugby competition seriously.Unless officials in that country change course, there are going to be a lot more heavy defeats in the future, some even heavier than the one this weekend.

“Many of the best Japanese rugby players are turning out for company-owned clubs in the country and not for the Sunwolves. The best Japanese players have to play for the Sunwolves, otherwise they are going to be embarrassed many more times.”

“In the match against the Lions they missed 53 tackles — you cannot compete successfully in Super Rugby with that sort of statistic. The Sunwolves defence was non-existent and they were continually smashed in the scrums. Had it been a boxing match, the white towel would have been flung into the ring by half-time.”

Ouch. The Sunwolves will have to banish any PTSD they have picked up from their trip to the Lions’ den as soon as possible. They return to SA to face the Stormers in Cape Town next Saturday.

The Japanese outfit has already requested Nick Mallett watches that game in the same restraint gear used to keep Hannibal Lecter immobilised.